Cinder Progress Report: Keep On Keepin' On

 I got off of work early on Friday to go up and watch Cinder again. Trainer A had said she had been a bit wild earlier in the week, but didn't seem to concerned by it. We had had some really weird weather with some unexpected snow on Tuesday (3" at work, but just a trace amount at my house and at Cinder's barn) and Cinder had moved into a new pasture. A chalked up Cinder's wildness to winter sillies. 

sheeps!

 

The great romance of Cinder and Kiwi has come to an end. The two of them were starting to get annoyingly attached to each other so Kiwi was moved to a different stall and Cinder to a different turnout group. Cinder's new turnout includes some older mares and sheep. Apparently she spent the first day trying to befriend the sheep but they weren't having it. The pasture she's in also has the barn's cross country jumps in it so she's seen them and hopefully once the pasture is dry A can take her over them. 

Cinder was all business under saddle on Friday. Since it was dry the barn had opened up the outdoor dressage court and A rode her out there. She's been ridden out there a handful of times and only once thought about jumping out of the court. Someone slammed a gate and she spooked sideways but kept herself from going over the rails. A has also taken her on her first road hack, walking up and down the gravel road and said she was really good. Cinder had to stop and stare at the neighbors cows, and the water coming out of a culvert into the ditch along the road, but didn't spook at anything and was able to do most of it on a loose rein. 

Cinder keeps looking more and more grown up and I can't believe the difference in her in just a couple of weeks. She's still obviously green, but she's staring to develop some nice rhythm and stretch in her trot. Her canter is still big and ungainly, but she's getting more and more comfortable in it, and her steering at the canter is much more improved. There was one spot in the arena that was a little too wet for her liking and whenever they passed by it she would giraffe her head up and get quick, but a couple of strides later would settle down again. I told her to stop being a princess and that she lives in western Oregon and is going to have learn to deal with wet footing.

In the dressage court. On the other side is the jump arena that gets opened in the spring and a course is set up all spring/summer/fall

 A and I are tentatively planning her first outing in March. A is taking some of her students to an indoor eventing show and Cinder is going to go. Right now A is still deciding weather she wants to actually show her, or just take her to school. A thinks she'll be ready to handle the intro division by then. We'll probably enter the intro, and then see how she handles the atmosphere and schooling. If we have to scratch the actual show, oh well. Just going will be good exposure for her.